"We are deeply concerned by reports of this severe sentence against Mr. Derakhshan," said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.

"Canadian officials continue to seek confirmation of the reports from Iran. If true, such a sentence is completely unacceptable and unjustifiable."

Cannon said there are some complications in the file.

"Mr. Derakhshan's situation is complicated by his dual nationality, which is not recognized by the Iranian authorities. Iran must release him and other dual nationals who have been unjustly detained."

Cannon said Canada is using diplomatic and other channels to gain access to Derakhshan and ensure that his legal rights are respected.

"We continue to strongly urge Iran to fully respect all of its human rights obligations, including freedom of expression, both in law and in practice‚" Cannon said in a statement Wednesday.

Derakhshan had earlier been facing the death penalty for his political activities.

According to media reports and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, which spoke to Derakhshan's family, the blogger was charged with "co-operation with hostile states, propagating against the regime, propagation in favour of anti-revolutionary groups, insulting sanctities and implementation and management of obscene websites."

Derakhshan, who is known in the blogging community as Hoder, is considered one of the pioneers of Iranian blogging. He was arrested in November 2008. Derakhshan has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime, particularly in the areas of civil liberties, censorship and freedom of speech. He visited Israel in 2006, under a Canadian passport, something that is illegal for Iranian citizens.

A number of groups‚ including Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and PEN Canada, an international organization working for writers who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled ‚ were working with Derakhshan's family to make sure the Iranian government provided him with his basic rights during his three-month trial.

Both groups urged the Canadian government to intervene on behalf of Derakhshan, who holds Canadian and Iranian citizenship.

In July 2003, Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was killed in an Iranian prison. In the summer of 2009, Canadian-Iranian filmmaker and Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari was imprisoned and was only released following pressure from the U.S. government.

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